Blair
Blair (ブレーズ, Burēzu, ''sometimes also known as '''Blair, the Black Witch') is a powerful witch, and also the infamous figure known as the "Blair Witch," who terrorized Blair, now known as Burkittsville in modern times, in retaliation for being unjustly accused of witchcraft, while being a Wiccen at the time. Shortly after her death by exposure, Blair was cast with the curse of "Immortality," as per the deal she made with the Devil Matriarch, Mephistopheles. Due to the long years of her immortality, she grew to despise humans, Gods, and Devils, wanting their immediate extinction. She killed many humans, but spared Akira Kurusu, who she later adopted and raised as her own child, due to the "dead look" in his eyes. He would later become her pawn in her scheme to kill every last Devil and God in the world. Appearance When she still retained the name Elly Kedward, the title she was born with, Blair was a woman with a fairly average physical build, and a large, black, dotted snake tattoo winding down either arm. Her facial features consist of eyes containing yellow irises with black pupils, and black hair arranged in a spiked style, with two long strands extending downwards framing either side of her face, that entwine each other like a caduceus' snake to rest upon her chest. She often wore a black sleeveless dress with a collar, which curiously has a spiderweb-like design at the top. After assuming the name of Blair, the Black Witch, she died her hair yellow, in order to cast aside her birthright, and forgoing any and all ties to the past. She had also begun to war a black body-length suit with hood, which extends downwards to her knees. The hood itself is adorned with an eye-like marking upon either side which, interestingly, when worn in addition to the shape of her hair, gives it the appearance of a snake's mouth, with teeth and fangs. History Early Life as Kelly Kedward Once known as the kind-hearted Wiccen, Elly Kedward, Blair was a woman renowned for her beauty and healing methods. While some had found it to be rather bizarre and strange, many had come to appreciate it. According to Blair, she learned of the art of magic through Sarah Ravencroft, a fellow Wiccen from Salem Village. For a time, Elly had enjoyed her peaceful life, as she, like Sarah, wanted nothing more than to bring peace to the lives of the people under her care. At some point in time, she had even fallen in love with one of the townsfolk, a young man named Jonah Mason. Jonah was a foreigner who had traveled from one of the southern colonies, as he and his family were not on good terms. As it happened, Jonah was once a patient of hers, and had fallen in love with her at first sight. Likewise, Elly had grew fond of the man who had been seeking her approval and his dedication to her. Unfortunately, after being in a relationship for two years, things had suddenly turned south, as Jonah's older brother, Jeremiah, had arrived to take him home. Jonah had left his family because of a dispute regarding the arranged marriage of his sister to a wealthy banker named Peterson, whom Jonah could not accept due to his upbringing. He held a deep grudge for the higher class, as he believed that they were the reason why his family had suffered in their early years. Jeremiah was willing to use force to bring Jonah back, if common sense failed. When he saw Elly healing an elderly woman diagnosed with an unknown disease, he accused her of being a witch, and claimed that she was poisoning Jonah's mind. Jonah, and many of the townsfolk who Elly had healed, immediately leaped to her defense. This, however, would be the first of many events that would lead to Blair being accused of witchcraft during the infamous Salem Witch Trials. The Witch Trials Jeremiah had begun doing everything he could possibly do in order to convince Jonah to return and accept the marriage, though he believed that Elly, who he was convinced was a witch, was poisoning his mind. To that end, he tried to besmirch her reputation, spreading false rumors about her, many of which were unfounded as was later revealed. Many grew to doubt Elly, all sans Jonah, who and a few others still defended her. Jeremiah did not stop there, however. He even began to accuse some of Elly's patients, and even Sarah Ravencroft, as witches, though many still continued to doubt the legitimacy of his claims, as Sarah was very well respected in Salem. Some of the townsfolk learned from Jonah about the family situation, and eventually began to believe that Jeremiah was simply blaming Elly, thinking that she was a threat to Jonah. However, only a few months later did word begin to spread about the mysterious happenings of Salem Village. Children had begun to claim that they were being attacked by invisible forces, as inexplicable marks began to appear on her body, including bite marks, wounds, etc. Some had believed that it was simply the children gaining attention, but the incidents invoked the attention of the Inquisition, and then the events started to escalate. While it was not documented, there were several cases of known witch craft being held in Salem. A woman was found in her home, pinned to the ceiling without any sort of wound on her person, yet blood continued to leak profusely from every orifice of her body. Investigators were left befounded, as there was nothing keeping her on the ceiling, even after they managed to pull her down. Another case was a child who was floating in the air above her bed, her eyes glazed with white, and bloody markings all across her body. In a document filed by Head Inquisitor Samuel Brig, the witch who committed these acts was none other than Sarah Ravencroft, who had gone mad after losing her husband and four-month year old child in a carriage accident. When word of this spread, suddenly ever suspicious "miracle" became seen as witchcraft. A few, including Jonah, still believed that Elly was innocent. However, Jonah's brother Jeremiah had managed to sway the populace of Blair, due to the mysterious death of one of Elly's patients. While documents say that the patient, Mary Clifford, had died of a heart attack, she was barely in her twenties, and came to Elly because she felt ill. Because no one knew the cause of death at the time, many believed that Elly had killed Mary, and began a witch hunt. The Birth of the Black Witch Jonah and Elly fled into the Black Hills forest, though they were caught off guard by Jeremiah, who shot at Elly. It didn't struck her, but it did cause a fight to break out between the two brothers. Jeremiah was desperately trying to convince his brother that his lover was a witch, but Jonah rebuked him by saying that he ruined everything. He even reveals that it was Jeremiah who opted for their sister to marry Peterson in order to regain their once proud status as bankers. Jeremiah, now furious, claims that Elly has ruined everything, and tries to shoot her. Jonah steps in front of the line of fire, and is fatally wounded. Elly, horrified and angered, kills Jeremiah, melding his body with a tree, with the roots burying into his body and piercing several of his organs in the process. When the townsfolk arrive, they find an unresponsive Elly cradling the dead Jonah's body in her arms, and the corpse of Jeremiah in a tree. Believing that Elly killed them both, they tied her up high on a tree, and weighed her limbs down with stones, thus leaving her for dead. The Wiccen, however, after spending a week in her state, had encountered a mysterious figure who introduced himself as Mephistopheles. Mephistopheles greets her casually, saying that he feels her overwhelming rage, and asks her for her greatest wish. Elly however, rebukes him, saying that if there is any rage in her heart, it is because she had lost the man she loved. Mephistopheles, however, began to sway her, saying that if there is something she should be angry at, it should be the people who accused her. He told her lie after lie, saying that they were rejoicing her soon-to-be death, and claimed that Jonah was nothing but a filthy man who was the Devil's own whore. Eventually, Elly's heart grew furious at the townsfolk. Mephistopheles asked her if she felt true rage, and she told him yes. Thus, the Devil gave her an offer: He would grant her the gift of "Immortality," and thus have all of eternity to punish those who were responsible. Elly accepted. Afterwards, Mephistopheles began to teach her everything he knew about the dark arts. In a short amount of time, the Wiccen had given up on her practices of healing, and instead embraced her newfound status as a witch. After ten years had passed since she became Mephistopheles' student, Elly returned to Blair, and began to terrorize the town. First, she killed the children of her persecutors, and then killed their families, and then finally, she ended their now broken lives. She didn't stop with them, however, as she also terrorized those who had no actual involvement in her death, sans chasing after her. The only ones she spared from her wrath were the few who still defended her, even to this day. Eventually, Elly appeared when the fear in Blair had reached it's height, and set the entire town ablaze. As the people fled, she claimed that this was their punishment for what they had done to her and Jonah, telling them to remember her as the "Witch of Blair" that would haunt them until their days of repentance. With her revenge complete, Elly had chosen to live a quiet life in the Black Hills forests, though her rage still lingered. After some time had passed, she later came to learn that what Mephistopheles had told her was all a lie: none of the townspeople had ever truly considered her to be a witch. In reality, after a year had passed since her days as Mephistopheles' student, Jeremiah and Jonah's sister, Jacqueline, had informed the townsfolk of Jeremiah's unknown secret: he was furious that Jonah had chosen to abandon his family and had found a new life to spend with some no-named woman. Elly, now furious, barged into Mephistopheles home, only to learn from a servant that he had been executed, having tried to instigate a rebellion against the current leaders of the Underworld. Feeling cheated out of her revenge, Elly cursed the Great Satans, and many years later, she even came to despise the gods themselves, believing that they had chosen this life for her. As a result of her anger, she left behind a powerful curse on the Black Hills forest, killing and terrorizing anyone that had dared to trespass her home. The Godslayer's Origin However, as fate would have it, Elly, who had long since abandoned that name in favor of the name of Blair, forgoing any and all ties to her days as a Wiccen, came across a boy who had miraculously survived her curse. The boy had apparently been caught in her curse for over fifty years, though he had not aged at all. She had originally intended to kill him, but changed her mind when she saw the look in his eyes, which she described as the look of a corpse with it's heart still beating. Taking an interest, Blair began to raise the child as her own, teaching him how to read and write, and even teaching him how to wield magic. Blair would later learn that the child, who's name was Akira Kurusu, had lost his past as a result of the curse, and was in fact, a Godslayer - a human with the power to slay even the Gods themselves. Upon learning of this, Blair began to plot her revenge against the Gods and Devils, with Akira as her faithful pawn. Personality As Elly, Blair was a soft-spoken, gentle and warming individual who believed that all of life was precious, and should be valued. She was quite shy around strangers, but eventually overcame this when she became romantically involved with Jonah Mason. However, after her persecution as a witch, Jonah's death, and Mephistopheles' manipulation, Blair became cold, manipulative, and pragmatic. She was uncaring of the principles she once held firmly, and even adopted a cruel and sadistic streak, taking great pleasure in killing those who she believed were responsible for her suffering. In the present day, Blair is a stoic and cold woman who does not like to interact with others, and harbors a great deal of hatred towards Gods and Devils alike. In fact, the only reason she joined Ophis was because she would be able to increase Akira's abilities to succeed in her revenge. That being said, she does not get along well with the other members; namely the Hero Faction and the Old Satan Faction. She particularly despises Katarina Leviathan, referring to her as a washed-up old hag, and threatened to kill Georg if he tried to come near her. However, in contrast, she has a motherly, almost loving and caring nature with Akira. Despite viewing him as little more than a pawn in her schemes, she genuinely cares about him, even teaching him things that she would otherwise deem unnecessary such as literature, writing, mathematics, and history. Likewise, Akira views her as if she were his real mother, informing Ophis that if she tried to betray his "mom" in any way, he would end her, in spite of the difference in power between them. Abilities As one of the oldest, and most powerful witches in existence, Blair's power is beyond comprehension, accomplishing many feats. Some say her skills far surpass even the likes of Merlin, the council and sorcerer of Camelot who served and advised King Arthur, who was very well-known for his incredible magical power, almost unmatched in terms of sheer magecraft alone. Additionally, Blair suffers from Mephistopheles' "Curse of Immortality." As a result, she is incapable of dying, and does not need to eat or drink in order to sustain herself. Furthermore, any damage she receives is quickly healed, even something as serious as having nearly half of her lower body, including several of her major organs being damaged, being destroyed by Sirzechs' Power of Destruction, only for her to regenerate the wound with relative ease. Trivia * Blair's appearance is based off of Medusa Gorgon, one of the main antagonist's of the ''Soul Eater ''franchise.